Taking the Piss

Chances
are pretty good you've recently seen the "Banksy on Advertising" quote
that begins, "People are taking the piss out of you everyday." The
passage is from Banksy's 2004 book Cut It Out, and it presents
the idea that if advertisers are going to fill your world with ads, you
have every right to "take, re-arrange and re-use" those images without
permission. The quote has been posted widely on Facebook, Tumblr, and
Twitter, which is where I found it.

Here's the interesting part:

Most of it is swiped directly from an essay I wrote in 1999, in the "Death, Phones, Scissors" issue of my zine Crap Hound. The first paragraph is more or less original, but the rest is mine, right down to the same words and phrases.

See for yourself. Here's the Banksy quote followed by the relevant part of my essay as it appeared in Crap Hound. (The full essay is linked at the end of this post.) Pink indicates indirect references, and yellow shows the direct swipes.

It's hard to know how to feel about this. My first thought was, "Hey, Banksy reads Crap Hound!"
Then, "What the fuck is going on?" Then, "Am I a real person? Am I
actually happening?" And finally, "Am I a beautiful flower angel sent
from heaven to inspire Banksy?"

As
problems go, it's a pretty nice one to have. I like Banksy's art and
ideas. I'm flattered he liked my writing and my sentiments, and I'm
happy others liked the quote enough to post and forward. I've seen
forums where people are debating the passage, including rebuttals from
ad-agency twats. It's on wikiquotes and a hundred blogs. My essay never
would have had that impact on its own.

The
downside is that Banksy's name is always on it. Seeing my writing
credited to someone else makes it a little less magical. Same with
knowing that one day (maybe soon, since the issue in question is being
reprinted), I'll get to hear how I ripped off Banksy.

The
fact that he's an "elusive mystery artist" doesn't leave me many
options. I found contact info online, but so far I've only received
bounced messages.

My
goal is to set the record straight online. There will be no lawyers or
threats of legal action. I've tried not to jump to conclusions, or
angrily denounce Banksy, or the Internet, or the terrible unfairness of
the universe. Maybe a ghostwriter was responsible for lifting it. Maybe
an attribution was lost in layout. (On the other hand, my words were
rearranged and tweaked. How does that happen accidentally?)

Banksy, if you're reading this, I accept your apology for the mix-up! I have a Crap Hound book coming out next year, and I'll be sure to make it up to me by signing your name to a really enthusiastic jacket blurb.

My zine, Crap Hound,
is full of "swiped" vintage advertising from 1920-1970 that was drawn
by anonymous commercial artists. The crucial difference: I don't pass
those images off as my own. When writing appears without attribution in
Banksy's book, the natural assumption is that he wrote it.

Also,
sooner or later someone might fart, "How brilliantly ironic, such
classic Banksy! Swiping something about swiping, then complaining that
it's been swiped!" For the record, I'm not a fan of telescoping,
self-referential irony. It's a tiresome, lazy circle jerk that confuses
ideas with actual life. I've seen people wondering if Banksy's Exit Through the Gift Shop was staged, so I'll be clear: This is a little baffling and irritating, but it's not a conceptual gag.

The full Reciprocity essay is here, and the passage as it appeared in Cut It Out is here.

Note from Chloe: This has come to light while we're (Reading Frenzy/Show
& Tell Press) in the middle of a Kickstarter campaign to fund a
reprint of Crap Hound #6: Death, Telephones & Scissors. The campaign
has been planned for months (and was posted on March 4th, four days
before Sean found the Banksy quote). Some may consider the timing a
happy accident, but this is a straightforward issue of giving credit
where it's due. You can read about, pledge to, or share our project here.